Some of us dream of living off the grid, trading modern civilization for the physical hardships and isolation of pre-modern living. Here are a handful of people who, by design and by circumstance, found themselves living in seclusion for years or even decades.

I thought hermits kept busy plastering windows with newspaper and collecting Pot Noodle cups. This Japanese hermit, while burying himself in the hills and practicing nunchuck skillz, has his own website and answers phonecalls—while being interviewed on TV.